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October 23, 2026

Tehran 6:01 am

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Explainer

What Iran’s threats to Hormuz internet cables mean for Gulf

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to cut crucial internet and communications routes in the region if US aggression escalates.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

US sanctions law firm based in Panama, Greece over Iran shipping ties

The Treasury Department accused Karnakis and Karnakis of registering shipping companies linked to Iran's so-called shadow fleet.

Latest News

Analysis

How Lavrov's Tehran visit tests limits of Russia's influence over Iran

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrive to hold a press conference after a meeting in Tehran on October 19, 2026. The Russian foreign minister arrived in Iran on October 19, in his first visit since the outbreak of the Middle East war as Moscow seeks to play a mediating role. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

IRGC claims it downed US drone, set two tankers ablaze near Hormuz

Ships are anchored off the coast of Khasab in Oman's Musandam Governorate, near the Strait of Hormuz, on Oct. 2, 2026.

Iran says deal reached with Iraq to expel Kurdish separatists: What to know

Safin HAMID / AFP via Getty Images

Lavrov visits Tehran as Trump praises Russia's role on Iran: What to know

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi upon his arrival in Tehran on Oct. 19, 2026.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Benjamin Houghton

In Durham, reporting on China in the Middle East

Rahim Rahimov

In Baku, reporting on Middle East-Caucasus ties

Mehrnaz Samimi

In Washington, DC, reporting on Iranian culture

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
Iran's Parliament speaker Ali Larijani speaks to the media during a news conference in Tehran November 30, 2011. Britain has evacuated all its diplomatic staff from Iran, Western diplomatic sources told Reuters on Wednesday, a day after protesters stormed and ransacked its embassy and residential compound. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2UN

Report on Larijani Attack Reveals Factional Divide in Iran

A special report on the February attack on parliament speaker Ali Larijani in Qom reveals an organized campaign to disrupt the public events of political rivals.

Iranian President Hassan Rowhani (L) and Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said (C-R) review the honour guard during the latter's welcoming ceremony at Tehran's Saadabad Palace on August 25, 2013. The Iranian authorities have announced that Sultan Qaboos of Oman, the only Gulf leader to maintain good relations with Tehran, arrived in Iran for a focus on economic issues and diplomacy visit. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Sultan Qaboos, UN's Feltman Test Diplomacy with Iran

Sultan Qaboos of Oman and UN Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman create diplomatic flurry in Tehran.

Shoes and slippers left by Muslims who were attending Friday prayers are seen at one of two mosques hit by explosions in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli, August 23, 2013. Twin explosions outside the two mosques killed at least 27 people and wounded hundreds in apparently coordinated attacks in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday, a senior health official and witnesses said. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12UE3

Is Iran Genuinely Troubled By Sunni-Shiite Conflict?

With the latest bombing in Lebanon, the sectarian overtones of the region's conflicts have crystallized.

Lebanese civilians and supporters of Hezbollah take part in a candle light vigil in solidarity with people who died in a car bomb that occurred on last Thursday in Beirut's southern suburbs August 19, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12R0W

Hezbollah-Hamas Relationship Strained

News reports suggest that Hezbollah's relationship with Hamas is under more pressure than ever, which is good news for Israel.

A woman cries at the site of an explosion in Beirut's southern suburbs, August 15, 2013. Rescue workers in the southern Beirut district hit by an explosion on Thursday have found nine bodies, a witness at the scene said. The powerful blast engulfed several cars in flames and also trapped people in a nearby building. REUTERS/Mahmoud Kheir (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12MIN

Lebanon Caught in Middle Of Iranian-Saudi 'Cold War'

Lebanon’s unique position in the Arab Levant means it has been inevitably caught up in the back and forth of Iran and Saudi Arabia’s proxy war in the region.

A police officer stands on the step of the Iranian Embassy in central London December 1, 2011. Britain will call for stronger economic sanctions on Iran at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday following the storming of its embassy in Tehran, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Thursday. REUTERS / Ki Price (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2UPPE

After Election Talk, Iranians Ask Rouhani to Walk the Walk

Many of Tehran's citizens are skeptical of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's ability to turn the economy around and deliver on his many campaign promises.

Israel's President Shimon Peres (R) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold Barcelona soccer jerseys as they stand in front of the players during a reception at Peres' residence in Jerusalem August 4, 2013. The Spanish league champions are making a brief stopover in Israel and the Palestinian territories en-route to a pre-season tour of Asia. REUTERS/Lior Mizrahi/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS SPORT SOCCER TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12A43

Israeli Left Must Stop Waiting For Its 'De Gaulle'

Israeli’s public apathy to negotiations shows its inability to connect the Iranian nuclear threat to the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and the country wasting its resources in “a futile war.”

Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi (R) speaks during a funeral ceremony for victims who were killed in an attack by bandits in Zabol, 1,605 km (997 miles) south of Tehran March 18, 2006. REUTERS/IRNA - RTR17CL9

Rouhani Appoints Controversial Justice Minister

Hassan Rouhani's justice minister played a controversial role in executions during the 1980s, according to human rights organizations.

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi (R) meets with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Palace in Cairo November 17, 2012. REUTERS/Egyptian Presidency/Handout (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR3AINS

Turkey’s 'Precious Isolation' In the Middle East

Foreign policy decisions by the Erdogan government, including on Egypt and Syria, have left Turkey without any influence over events in the Middle East.

Police stand guard outside the Iranian ambassador's house during a protest against Iran in Cairo April 5, 2013. Ultra-Conservative Islamist Salafists brought down the Iranian flag at the house of the Iranian ambassador in Egypt Mojtaba Amani on Friday, and replaced it with the Syrian revolutionary flag. Seen at the top of the fence is the Syrian revolutionary flag. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXY9NK

Iran on Egypt’s Crisis: Political Islam in Danger

Iran fears that civil war could break out in Egypt, and worries about the dangers that could pose for the region.

A general view of Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. Iran began fuelling its first nuclear power plant on Saturday, a potent symbol of its growing regional sway and rejection of international sanctions designed to prevent it building a nuclear bomb. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTXSAXN

Obama Administration Has Options For Iran Sanctions Relief

If there is progress in nuclear talks with Iran, the Obama administration has enough executive discretion for sanctions relief, even if it's nearly impossible to revoke the Iran Sanctions Act.

Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh answers journalists' questions as he arrives in a hotel in Vienna January 29, 2005. OPEC oil ministers gather in Vienna for a meeting on January 30. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader HPB/AA - RTRLRCL

Iran's Petroleum Industry Welcomes Zanganeh's Return as Minister

The appointment of Bijan Namdar Zanganeh as petroleum minister brings hopes and expectations for overdue reforms.